Sometimes, even maintenance mode is a little tough. I had somewhat of a rough day, getting some bad family-related news and dealing with frustrating work issues. When I feel overwhelmed it’s really hard to jump into an organizational project.

Take my desk, for instance. Right now it has the week’s mail in a pile, waiting for me to sort it. In addition, my receipts and other filing are sitting there, too. But when I’m having a bad go of it, the last thing I want to do is tackle that pile. Or do my receipt filing, or log my expenses. For some people, mundane tasks help them get their mind off of things. I really should try to look at it that way instead of “one more thing” to add to my already long to-do list.

You have to give yourself a little bit of leeway sometimes. You don’t want to always slack off, but you can’t be “on” all the time either. When you are overwhelmed, give yourself permission to just maintain things “as is.” Try not to let the chaos grow and do what you have to do to get back on track.

So I have some things to deal with before I feel I can reorganize. Rather than berate myself for what I’m not getting done, I’m going to let it be. And when I get my bearings again, I’ll get back on track.

When you feel overwhelmed, do let all of your progress go to waste, or do you try to maintain things until you can get back on track? Do mundane tasks help get your mind off of your shortcomings, or are they too much for you?